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The present thesis was developed within the framework of the Postgraduate Studies of the Department of Management of Tourism Organizations of The Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki. In the present thesis, there is an extensive reference to the cultural tourism and to the role of the festivals in promoting and developing the cultural tourism of Thessaloniki. In the first chapter, we will analyze the concept of tourism, make a historical overview of the tourist phenomenon and examine the impact of tourism in general. Then, we will present the categories of tourism referring to the tourist typology and the types of tourism. In the second chapter, we will mention the most important alternative forms of tourism while at the same time we will make a more extensive reference to the cultural tourism by analyzing the concept, the characteristics and the effects of cultural tourism to the local community. In the third chapter, we will focus on festival tourism, which is a major part of cultural tourism in general. Then, we will proceed to a historical overview highlighting the development over time of the festivals from Ancient Greece to the present day. In addition, we will mention the main categories of festivals and the activities that characterize a festival. We will also mention the success factors of a festival. In the fourth chapter, we will talk specifically about festival tourism and cultural development in Greece. We will mention some information about festivals in Greece, the role of festivals in the promotion of tourism in Greece and the impact of festival tourism. In the fifth chapter, which is the main part of the present work, we will study the area of Thessaloniki area by making an extensive reference to the main festivals and collect the cultural elements of Thessaloniki that contribute to the development and promotion of festival tourism.The conclusion of the present thesis will analyze and evaluate the results of the primary research that will be conducted in the context of the specific work. This particular work contributes to the promotion of Thessaloniki as a capital of culture and the promotion of the festivals that contribute to the development of cultural tourism of Thessaloniki.